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A free collectible toy bundled with a cup of coffee was not supposed to be a business opportunity.
But for a group of scalpers targeting Zus Coffee outlets across Malaysia, it became exactly that.
Posts circulating on Threads this week show individuals ordering 48 cups of drinks across separate transactions — deliberately splitting orders to circumvent per-customer limits — then reselling the accompanying Buddy Hipper collectibles at marked-up prices, with some listings bundled into “combo deals” worth up to RM200.
The scheme has wiped out stock at multiple outlets, with customers reporting that four branches in a row had nothing left.
How It Works Is Straightforward
The maths are not complicated.
Zus Coffee’s Buddy Hippers promotion, launched on 22 June, gives customers a free miniature collectible figure for every RM11.20 spent on handcrafted drinks via the ZUS app.
The figures — eight characters with names like Zen Cha, Mama Puff, and Frappe Fren — are distributed as blind boxes, meaning the design received is completely random.
That randomness is deliberate by design; it drives completionist behaviour among collectors who want the full set, inflating demand on the secondary market.
Scalpers exploit this by buying in volume — spending roughly RM538 across 48 separate app transactions to claim 48 random Hippers, then reselling each piece at RM20.
A full run, if sold, returns approximately RM960; the per-cup margin is thin, but the volume makes it work.
Because the promotion runs exclusively through the ZUS Coffee app on pick-up orders, coordinating 48 separate transactions likely required multiple accounts or multiple individuals acting in concert — a level of organisation that goes well beyond casual opportunism.
Same Playbook, Different Toy
The backlash online has been swift, though notably divided.
Many commenters directed their frustration not at the scalpers but at the buyers keeping the market alive — “whoever buys from scalpers is stupid” was among the more printable responses.
Others opted for creative retribution, with one widely liked comment wishing scalpers a lifetime of red traffic lights, sold-out favourite dishes, and phones that perpetually die at 1 per cent battery.
Several commenters drew direct comparisons to the Labubu and Pop Mart collectible frenzy that swept Malaysia last year, suggesting the scalping playbook — flood the supply, corner the stock, flip for profit — has become a repeatable template regardless of what the item actually is.
The Buddy Hippers promotion remains live while stocks last.
READ MORE: [Watch] Labubu Thief’s Underwear Heists: Man Stuffs Collectibles Down Pants Three Times
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